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who am I in 24 seconds... READY? ART DIRECTOR COFFEE LOVER BEARD STROKER CAR STALKER CREATIVE THINKER SWEDISH TEAM PLAYER EAGER PROOF READER PIZZA JUNKIE DESIGNER BIKE RIDER PHOTOGRAPHER DIYER ALL-ROUNDER NATURE SEEKER AND... 💨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR

you don't have time to read THIS

So if you're looking to understand about my experience, awards and skillset, just download my CV here.

Now that we got that out of the way, you might have time to learn more about the most swedish-looking brazilian you ever will meet.

My interest for creating "things" started when I was 14 and my mum brought home our first Personal Computer. The not so mighty and very ugly Intel 486 DX4-100mhz with a dial up 14.4kb/s dial-up internet connection and Windows 3.11. I'm pretty sure its screen was heavier than me. 

Nevertheless, in a small island in the South of Brazil back in 1994 that was the most exciting thing happening in my life.  

That big white box made my world much bigger than it used to be. I remember building my very first website in Netscape Composer, and wanting to learn English so I could use software like Corel Draw and Macromedia Flash. I know, shoot me, I was a Corel guy. 

After two years of making and remaking my own website I managed to get an internship job when I was only 16, making websites for the clients of a local internet provider. Yes, I did websites for businesses like restaurants and motels... I also built my own "product", an online solicitor database which allowed solicitors and their clients to share information about their law-suit online. I became a millionaire and... not quite. I only sold it to a couple of law firms. 

A couple of years went past and so did a couple of other jobs, doing a similar thing, but now getting paid for it. No there was no Product Leads or Senior UX Directors back then. Just designers, problem solving while making things look great. 

Deciding I was going to be good at it, I started my BA in Graphic Design (evenings) and halfway through the course I was hired as a Designer of the Marketing Department of a large tech company called Dígitro. 


I was only 20, and with no other creative above me I suddenly became responsible for defining and managing the corporate identity, the print advertising and I even managed to squeeze some product design out of that role – a personal VOIP router. Search for Digitro ATA if you're interested but don't expect to see something Steve Jobs would be proud of.

The term Start-up didn't exist back then, but it didn't stop me from having my own design agency inside of my tiny and uncool studio flat. Back then I had no idea one day I would be working with global brands, that Sean Doyle would mentor me, that studio flats would be cool or companies run from home would be called start-ups.  

Three years later, I had a handful of clients and still had the job at the tech company but decided that I needed to explore the world and learn about other cultures so I invested all my savings in learning English, travelling around Europe and exploring photography for 6 months. It sounded much more fun than paying a student loan in full. 

After swapping Florianópolis for London I quickly realised how valuable the sun is and how quickly 6 months go by.  

Luckily London offers plenty of cloudy days, flat beers and opportunities, which meant I landed gigs at agencies like Ogilvy One, Mook (Nitro), Saint (RKCR) and RG/A. All of the sudden I was working with brands like Visa, Nokia, Mars, Siemens and having a much better understanding of the Ad world compared to what I was used to. But after a few years I felt limited by the ideas I was given to create.  

No brilliant design can cover up for mediocre ideas, and vice-versa. Sorry, but not sorry. 

After a D&AD Advertising course in 2012 I went to Critical Mass as a Creative / Art Director and launched a new P&G brand called Nioxin. We developed a digital eco-system and campaign activation utilising YouTube way before social media influencer became a jargon. 


At CM I discovered the possibility of combining two of my passions, creativity and cars, while helping the North American team with the Nissan GT Academy project, which ended up in a Bronze Cyber Lion in Cannes 2012. It wasn't my idea so don't expect to see it on my folio.

I joined Spark44 when there was only handful of creatives. Initially responsible for the digital side of every Jaguar campaign and then allowed to play with the big boys, the integrated campaign briefs and launch films. 

I was awarded for making people connect their phone to a banner in their computer in order to drive a car, I developed my writing skills (Thanks Sean) and created posters that made people think. I led the re-design of Jaguar.com, I made ads that were games, launch films, social content and activations. I was the Creative Director for the Jaguar Racing account for two years. Yes me, that same guy that used to do websites for restaurants and motels now delivering first class, globally integrated campaigns.  
I blame the lack of sun in London for that. 

Since then I've been given the opportunity to work with brands like Bentley, Triumph, Gore-tex, Porsche, Bollinger Champagne and Toyota in the likes of AQKA, The&Partnership and KEKO London.  
When I look back to my humble beginnings making websites for local businesses, I realise I never thought any of this was either possible or impossible. My passion and commitment to do what I think it’s right has allowed me to write this piece and despite the lack of sun, that's how I continue to approach everything I do.  

I don't believe in boxing people into certain roles because I don't believe in roles. I believe in the people that are present and in their desire of creating better things, every day. 

A
nyone can create a piece of communication, but most won't be able to establish a connection between the brand and the consumer. 



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E-mail: leo.lebkuchen@gmail.com